Opening Night Classical Concert: A FRENCH SOIRÉE

Brett Mitchell, conductor

Stewart Goodyear, piano

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DUKAS  Fanfare from La Péri

RAVEL  Piano Concerto in G Major

FAURÉ  Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande

BIZET  Selections from Carmen

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The 2025 Festival opens with the Fanfare from Dukas’ La Péri for the brass alone. Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major, performed by Stewart Goodyear, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The second half opens with Faure’s stunningly beautiful Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande and closes with selections from Bizet’s Carmen to mark the 150th anniversary of both Bizet’s passing and Carmen’s premiere.

Proclaimed “a phenomenon” by the Los Angeles Times and “one of the best pianists of his generation” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished concert pianist, improviser and composer. He has performed with, and has been commissioned by, many of the major orchestras and chamber music organizations around the world.